Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers
by Prince Arjuna
Summary: A group of paparazzi wannabes wanted to know about a certain mysterious and enigmatic transfer student at Gekkoukan High, without knowing the world that they will go into. Rated T for safety. Read and review. CURRENTLY ON HIATUS
1. Transfer Student

Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers

Written by Albireo Imma

Chapter 1: Transfer Student

* * *

Gekkoukan High School (or Gekkoukan Gakuen) is a high school which is sponsored by an enormous family corporation, Kirijo Group. It was first established by Kirijo Group at 1982 and became the symbol of pride of Kirijo Group at Tatsumi Port Island. This enormous high school is also known by its dark history of an explosion which had killed several Kirijo Group's researchers at 1999. Well, this story is not about that dark incident, but rather about something which is associated with the recent condition of the high school.

Well, shall we begin now?

* * *

"Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers, assemble!"

Miyazaki Chizuru, Murakami Jun and Miyafuji Nodoka were the members of unfathomable Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers (or GHQ for short), a non-Student Council approved school club. This club is known for its well-known reputation to obtain any information which seems as fascinating to be heard by Gekkoukan's students.

"I, Miyafuji Nodoka, GHQ's member, reporting for duty…" a short black-haired bespectacled girl spoke with such an unenthusiastic tone as she closed her eyes.

"Murakami Jun, likewise…" then a blonde-haired tall girl came with a silly smile.

"Hey hey, we're known for our sensational reports and issues should be more energetic!" after that, a croissant red-haired girl, Miyazaki Chizuru who seemed to be the club leader spoke with loud voice.

"It's not that we should be more energetic or don't, but remember, we're a non-Student Council approved school club. We may have to disband our group anytime," Nodoka said with dull tone.

"But they still not say anything to us! And remember, Kirijo-senpai will personally come to us if she finds out that our club isn't good!" Chizuru said.

"There's a correction… Kirijo-sama will not bother to come to us and to ask us to disband our group…" Jun corrected casually, still having her ditzy smile plastered on her face.

"Sheesh, alright, that's enough. Into the topic then," the croissant-haired girl sighed as she picked the chalk before she started to write something on the board.

GHQ has no club room of its own, so they had to borrow a class after school day. Chizuru was the leader of this infamously-known group. It seemed that she had something interesting to share with other club members of GHQ(membership; 3).

"Our topic today is…" Chizuru put the chalk down as she faced her friends.

_Mysterious and enigmatic transfer student, Arisato Minato from 2-F._

"About him!" Chizuru slammed her hand on the board, indicating how serious she was. "Although Arisato Minato-kun has already become Gekkoukan's student for about several months, he had become a hot topic to be talked for over these months!"

"Arisato Minato, most of his backgrounds are confidential and secret, even in school database. It's like that school's authority itself tries to hide his background…" Nodoka said as she read a document.

"You know, Minato-kun is one of second-year student with highest grade in school, and he's an active member of Kendo Club and Music Club. Besides that, Kirijo-sama herself personally asked him to join Student Council," explained Jun as one of the GHQ members from 2-F.

"Hmm, how fascinating he is…" Chizuru mused as she rubbed her chin.

"But the hottest topic about Minato-kun is this. By the aid of some of our anonymous yet trustful sources, he's always being spotted walking at night; especially at Paulownia Mall... then, he's also being spotted to be walking at night with a white dog around Naganaki Shrine at Iwatodai District..." Nodoka said as she continued to read the document.

"Alright… so it has been decided, right? From today onwards, we will unravel the mystery of this mysterious transfer student! There's no one could slip out from my fingers if I'm serious…" Chizuru clenched her fist.

"Chizuru... you scare me..." Nodoka stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Iwatodai Strip Mall…

Sneeze!

"Minato-kun, are you alright?" a concerned brunette girl in pink cardigan spoke to the navy-haired boy, who was previously sneezing.

"Maybe I'm caught by cold… don't worry, Yukari…" Minato tried to give Yukari a reassuring smile as his mind was straining itself to think of something.

_A series of impure thought? I think something bad is going to happen on me afterwards…_

Minato sighed.

_Whatever... it's not like that I'm going to die because of that…_

To Be Continued...

Author's Note:

Hello, it's me, Albireo Imma. I've thought of this fanfic after I read Persona 3 manga. Because of that, I write this fanfic. This chapter is relatively short and it includes my Original Characters who are Miyazaki Chizuru, Murakami Jun and Miyafuji Nodoka (but I take their features and attitudes from Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers from Persona 3 manga). I hope dear readers will read this fanfic and review it.

Albireo Imma.


	2. Nodoka and Library

Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers

Written by Albireo Imma

Chapter 2: Nodoka and Library

* * *

70.8% of Earth consists of water and the rest of the Earth surface is covered by us, humans. It is notable since the ancient day humans are consisted of many variations, as a result of combined genes among them. Even for today, due to the mixed variety of genes among us, humans like to do such ridiculous things to be made. One perfect example is about a group of paparazzi wannabes which consists of three girls who can be considered too ignorant or too stupid to investigate about a certain mysterious yet enigmatic transfer student, without realizing the world they are stepping into.

Alright, enough with these unimportant bragging. Let us proceed to the story, shall we?

* * *

"Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers, assemble!"

It had been one week since the last meeting of GHQ's members. The leader of the trio, Chizuru seemed uneasy as she waited for the results they got from the investigations they had made in seven days.

"So, what we got here?" Chizuru asked to the other members of GHQ.

Nodoka cleared her throat before she took out her notebook. "According to our research, as we got from our anonymous yet trustful sources, our subject, Arisato Minato-kun was spotted at Hagakure, eating ramen with one of his friends…"

"Besides that, based on our sources, Minato-kun was spotted at Chagall Cafe in Paulownia Mall..." added Jun.

"Apart from that, one of our trusted sources, also known as 'takoyaki-seller-lady', spotted Minato-kun, with a student from other school, eating takoyaki... and one of his notable techniques is hot-hot munching style..." Nodoka said.

"And the last but not least, our subject was also spotted with an elementary-school girl eating Wild Duck Burger... the amount of burgers he took is always staggering..." Jun ended the report.

And as a conclusion...

"The only thing he does… is eating…" both Jun and Nodoka said in unison.

An imaginary erupted volcano formed on top of the trio's leader. "Grrrr… how suppose we do with this information?" she exclaimed furiously. "What good can we get from him if the only thing he does is eating?" she added, sounded rather annoyed.

"And that proves that our struggles are useless since the beginning…" said Nodoka stiffly. Anyway, I'm going out. I should go to library. Jun-chan, Chizuru, see you tomorrow…"

"Nodoka! Don't leave us!" Chizuru exclaimed tearfully, trying to stop the girl with glasses from leaving them.

It was unsuccessful since Nodoka had walked out from the classroom. She walked along the corridors towards the library. She entered the library and frowned as she saw someone who they had stalked some times before.

"Minato-kun?" she muttered and frowned.

Carefully, Nodoka walked into the library and sat beside the navy-haired boy. The girl put her books on the table before she opened one of them. She also took a slight peek on what Minato was reading.

"Hi, Nodoka-san…"

If the place wasn't a library, Nodoka might jolt up and made an unpleasant noise. She couldn't believe that Minato was speaking to her. Nodoka looked at the navy-haired boy who was smiling at her benevolently.

"H-Hi! M-Minato-kun! What a surprise, isn't it?" Nodoka said nervously.

Minato chuckled, making the usually-stoic girl blushed. To prevent herself from making any embarrassing expression, she tried to concentrate herself on the book in his hand.

"Preparation for exam, eh?" the navy-haired boy started a conversation with Nodoka.

"Uh? Uh… well, sort of. Anyway, what book are you reading at?" Nodoka asked. She looked at the cover of the book which Minato was reading.

"The Red Book, Carl Jung..." Nodoka read the title of the book. "Hey, wasn't this a psychological book?"

"Yes…" Minato replied without taking off his eyes from the book.

"Why are you reading this book anyway? I can't remember anything about psychology taught in class," Nodoka asked with curiosity.

"Nothing..." Minato shrugged. "I just found this book on the shelf there... so I took it and read it..."

"Hmm, I see…" Nodoka mused. "Do you like book?" she asked.

Minato looked at the bespectacled girl. "Depend on the type of the book. Is there something wrong with that?"

Nodoka was agitated for some moments before she shook her head. She could feel her blood rushed towards her head, making her felt slightly dizzy. She touched her face and it felt hot. She knew that she was blushing before she stood up.

"Anyway, I should hurry! See you!" she said hastily before she turned to a direction, wanting to leave Minato.

Before she could go, Minato grabbed her shoulder. She gasped as Minato's strong hand held her shoulder.

"Will we meet again sometime?" Minato asked.

Nodoka could feel her heart was beating faster by hearing those words from the navy-haired boy. She had some internal arguments inside her before she came out with a lame reply.

"S-Sure! We're in a same school, isn't it?" she said as she laughed nervously.

"Haha… how silly I am. Sorry if I scare you," Minato released his hand from Nodoka's shoulder. Timidly, Nodoka walked out from the library. When she was walking along the corridors, she was contemplating with herself.

"_What's with him? And what with this feeling?"_ she thought before she placed her hand on her chest where her heart was in.

"_It feels like something was tied within me…"_

Meanwhile in the library, Minato closed the book. A slight smirk formed on his lips before a butterfly flew around him before it perched on his shoulder.

"It seems I've forged another bond. Hmm… how interesting," the navy-haired boy muttered.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

It's been a while since the last time I write this story. Anyway, I've resumed my work on this story and expect something from this. I hope readers will read this fic and don't forget to read and review.

Albireo Imma.


	3. A Day with Murakami san

Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers

Written by Albireo Imma

Chapter 3: A Day with Murakami-san

* * *

It was after school when Minato was left with the class duty. His best friend, Junpei innocently left him with the class chores. As Yukari reprimanded the class' joker, Minato said to her reassuringly that he would be fine to do the chores by himself. Furthermore, he wasn't alone doing the jobs.

"Thank you for helping me, Murakami-san," Minato said thankfully to the blonde girl beside him.

"That's okay, Minato-kun. It might be hard for you to work alone, so I decided to help you as well…" the blonde girl, Murakami Jun said as she smiled sweetly. Jun was taller than average girl in her age, even taller than Yukari or Aigis. She was athletic and was capable to do many works by herself. In comparison, she was about the same height as Minato.

"Well, sorry for being a burden," Minato said apologetically as he took a piece of cloth to clean the window. Jun also did the same and cleaned a window next to the one Minato was cleaning.

"No, that's alright. I'm glad to help you out, Minato-kun," Jun said, tilting her head. She looked at how Minato was doing his job before she commented, "Oh my, you're quite diligent, aren't you? I wonder if you always did your house chores…"

Minato gazed downwards as he spoke in solemn tone. "Ever since my parents died, I learned to do things by myself. Before I came to this city, I lived with various relatives I barely knew. I learned many things from my part-time jobs…" he said before he looked at Jun with a pair of bluish gray eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Jun said, looking at the navy-haired boy with concern. "I'm sure it's hard for you, right?" she asked.

Minato shrugged. "I'm getting used to it," he took several looks at the windows before he gave a satisfied smile. "Anyway, we're about to finish this job. How about if we go out for a bit? I heard that Hagakure is having a new menu today," he said.

Jun stared at Minato's face for a while before she smiled and nodded. "It sounds fun and promising. I'll be glad to go with you," she said.

* * *

Hagakure, Minato and Jun were waiting for their bowls of ramen they had ordered. While they were waiting, they chatted with each other for a while. They talked about various things like their clubs and school activities. By that, Minato knew that besides being a member of the infamous GHQ, Jun was also an active member of Swimming Club.

"Next month, there will be a tournament. I'll be joining the tournament as well…" Jun said, beaming a cheerful smile at Minato. The navy-haired boy smiled as well.

"Then, I'll be looking forward to see you that day. I bet you'll win the race," Minato said, grinning.

"Haha, you're flattering me, Minato-kun," Jun's face was slightly red as she put her right hand on her cheek. "Well then, I'll try my best to win the race!" she exclaimed, full with spirit.

"That's the spirit, Murakami-san," Minato said with encouraging tone. Then they talked about many things like Naganaki Shrine and Paulownia Town without realizing that they were stalked by a pair of persons. The one person, the one with croissant hair was looking at both of them with full attention as the other one, the one with black hair and glasses was scribbling in her notebook.

"I know Jun is holding something from us, but with this sight," the one with croissant hair, Chizuru said before she exclaimed, "What the hell is going on? Why is Jun doing with Minato-kun here? Look, they look very cute together, as like they were dating!"

"Hush!" the one with glasses, Nodoka hushed. "Can you please be quiet for a bit, Chizuru? If you're becoming this loud, they'll see us!" as she said that, both Minato and Jun turned their attentions to their direction, making both Chizuru and Nodoka hastily retreated and hided from their visions. After a while, both Minato and Jun looked in front of them again as their ramens finally came.

"See? I told you they'll see us if you're this loud!" Nodoka hissed.

"Hey, you're the one who is loud! W-Wait the minute! What the hell happened to you, Nodoka? You look… flustered. Your face… it's red…" Chizuru pointed at Nodoka's face. The girl with glasses gasped before she turned towards a nearby mirror which reflected her tomato-faced reflection. She couldn't believe that she had just ruined her image that she had built for so long.

"No! Not this time!" Nodoka exclaimed.

"What happened to you, Nodoka? Why are you blushing?" Chizuru asked. "Did something happen?"

Nodoka shook her head evasively. "N-No, nothing happened! Look, let's just observe those two. Maybe we can find something from them." she suggested before she continued to observe those two.

"Yeah, we must see what they are doing here…" a feminine voice said.

"Me too," a somehow robotic, another feminine voice said.

"What is Minato-kun doing with her, here in this place?" another girl's voice, a timid-voiced one was heard.

"Hehe, Minato sure is a hunk…" a boy's voice then said.

"Huh?" Chizuru looked behind as she heard those voices and freaked out as three girls and one boy were peeping at Minato and Jun as well. Those four were Yukari, Aigis, Fuuka and Junpei.

Yukari realized that they were at Chizuru's and Nodoka's back before she said, "Ops… sorry."

* * *

"The ramen here is delicious. Thanks for bringing me here, Minato-kun," Jun said to Minato as they walked out from Hagakure. Yukari, Chizuru, Aigis, Fuuka, Nodoka and Junpei went into hiding as two of them walked out from the food shop. "Next time, I'll be glad to tag along with you," she said while smiling brightly.

"I'm glad you're happy with that, Murakami-san," Minato said, smiling gently. Jun blushed as she looked visibly fidgeting.

"Minato-kun, you can call me Jun if you like. I like to be called with that name," Jun said, smiling despite her reddened face. She looked straight into Minato's eyes before she spoke again, this time with slightly slow voice. "Well, I wish I want to know you more, Minato-kun. For me, you're different compared to any other boys I knew."

"You can be my friend, Jun-chan…" Minato said, smiling mischievously. Imaginary steam came out from Jun's ears as Minato added '-chan' after her name. She could feel her face was as red as a fresh tomato that was recently picked from a farm. By looking at Jun's reddened face, Minato chuckled before he placed his hand on Jun's shoulder. "Haha, just joking. You're cute when you're blushing, Jun-san…"

Jun pouted before she said, "I don't know you're this mean, Minato-kun," she said as she puffed. "You're evil! I'll call the shaman from the shrine and exorcise you!" she said.

"Haha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Minato said, laughing. "Anyway, are you having fun today?" he asked.

"Yes I am, Minato-kun. I hope I can be your good friend, Minato-kun…" Jun offered Minato a handshake. Minato took her hand and had their hands gripped with each other. "Let's do our best next time, okay?" she said.

"You bet, Jun-san…" Minato said. Jun then took some steps aback before she bowed at the navy-haired boy. Then she walked away, leaving Minato, not before waving her hand at him. After Jun lost from Minato's sight, Minato sighed.

"Well, another knot of relationship is made. I wonder how far it can bring me…" the navy-haired boy muttered. Suddenly, Yukari, Aigis, Fuuka and Junpei came out from their hiding and went towards him. Minato couldn't help but to be shocked by their sudden appearance.

"What the hell are you doing here, Minato-kun?"

"I sense a threat from that girl, Minato-san. Please allow me to exterminate the threat…"

"M-Minato-kun, are you… well… you two…"

"Dude, I can't believe it! You're… you're… aw man!"

It seemed that Minato had many things to deal afterwards.

Meanwhile, Jun was walking and humming a melody happily. She skipped towards the direction of her house before she stopped for a while. She put her hand on her chest before she smiled.

"Minato-kun…" she muttered.

She closed her eyes.

"So, this is love, isn't it?" she added.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

Haha, forgive me for abandoning this story for so long, dear readers! I took my chance to make some corrections in previous chapters so this fic can be slightly better, if not the best. In this chapter, I have introduced this Jun character and how Minato interacts with her. Jun is like an ordinary ditzy tall girl in anime, so any criticism about her is purely appreciated. I hope you can read and review it.

Albireo Imma


	4. Chizuru the Investigation Princess

Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers

Written by Albireo Imma

Chapter 4: Chizuru the Investigation Princess

* * *

Since last week, Chizuru sensed something definitely wrong about her fellow GHQ members, Nodoka and Jun. When they discussed about their primary subject of their group, Arisato Minato, Nodoka was terribly flustered and always excused herself to go to the toilet as they talked about that certain navy-haired boy. Jun, in the other hand, had such uncharacteristic, brilliant glow of happiness on her face as she talked about Minato.

"Something is definitely wrong with them," Chizuru muttered. Since their new behaviors incapacitated them from doing any further investigation, Chizuru had to do the investigation alone without the aid from Jun and Nodoka. "Something has affected them, and Arisato Minato-kun seems to be the primary cause of that…"

Because of that, Chizuru decided a new form of investigation, namely using her own friends to observe Minato. There was one day when Nodoka went into the library to study with Minato. The usually-stoic girl seemed to be pretty anxious as Minato sat beside him.

"Nodoka-san, why are you adding this number? I mean, you should multiply it first with this," Minato pointed on Nodoka's book, "before you add with this."

"Oh," Nodoka realized her mistake. "S-Sorry, Minato-kun. I never thought I did it wrongly…"

Minato chuckled before his delicate hand touched Nodoka's small hand. "Don't worry, Nodoka-san. Let's solve the problem together," the navy-haired boy smiled kindly, making Nodoka felt like her face was intensely burning. She could feel her face was illuminating with such faint red glow of blush.

"I-I understand, Minato-kun," Nodoka said bashfully as she looked at her hand which was held by Minato's. Despite being delicate-looking, Minato's hand was warm and strong, but in the same time, gentle. Then, Minato took his pencil and corrected Nodoka's works.

Chizuru who was looking at them in her hiding was scribbling something in her notebook.

_Nodoka is acting strangely around Minato-kun. Somehow, she blushes as she speaks to him._

Then, Chizuru gasped as she realized something. "Don't tell me…" she muttered. "Nodoka's falling on him," she glanced at those two. Despite being a stoic and deadpan girl with a pair of glasses, Nodoka seemed to be pretty moe around Minato. If they truly were couple, they would make a cute one.

"Minato-kun, what kind of charm do you have actually?" Chizuru muttered.

In the next day, when Chizuru was walking along the corridor, she heard two familiar voices. She quickly hided and found out that the owners of the said voices were Minato and Jun. They chatted merrily with each other.

"Oh yeah, I have Kendo practice today. Do you want to see it?" Minato spoke to Jun as he smiled benevolently.

Jun smiled as well to Minato as her cheeks turned red. "I'd love to see it, Minato-kun," she said. Then they walked towards the gym. Silently and sneakily, Chizuru followed them.

In the gym, the members of the Kendo Club were having practice. Minato was wearing his black Kendo uniform which had a significant white strap on it. He was having an intense wooden sword battle with his rival, Kazushi. Jun was watching the battle between two of them. The other members also paused their training as they looked at the intensified fight between those two aces.

Minato's steps were fluid and masterful, like a Samurai in ancient time. Kazushi seemed to have problem blocking Minato's endless assault. He tried to make a counterattack, but to no avail as Minato completely protected his whole body as he continued his attacks. Then, before he could realize it, Kazushi could feel a soft hit on his head.

"Men!" Minato shouted, announcing his attack. His shinai had hit Kazushi's helmeted head. He then took his bamboo sword away from Kazushi's head before he took off his helmet. "I win again, Kaz. You owe me another bowl of ramen again, mate…" he grinned.

Kazushi snorted before he took off his helmet as well. "I can't believe I've lost again! Minato, you're a monster!" he exclaimed. Then the club manager, Yuko came and kindly gave them towels. They wiped their sweaty face with the said towels.

"Haha, so much for your leg, Kazushi. Oh well, I know you've problem with your leg, but your hits were pretty solid. Actually, I have some problems blocking them," Minato said. Kazushi chuckled.

"Haha, thanks, Minato…" Kazushi said, grinning.

"Whoa, congratulation, Minato-kun! You're cool!" Jun exclaimed as she went towards Minato. "You fight like a Samurai I'd seen in a movie!" she said.

"Are you rooting for me that time?" Minato asked, smiling.

"Of course, Minato-kun! No wonder you're becoming an ace!" the blonde girl exclaimed.

Kazushi glanced at Jun before he spoke. "Umm… Murakami-san, what're you doing here?" he asked. Like Minato, he's also one of Jun's classmates.

Jun realized Kazushi was talking to her before she bowed to the boy politely. "Ah, sorry for ignoring you, Kazushi-kun. I'm here to watch you guys training, that's all," she said. A polite smile was formed on her lips, making Kazushi blushed as well.

"Ah, what're we having here, oh…" Yuko, the club manager came to the group before she realized Jun's presence. "You're…" she looked at the taller girl.

"So, you're Yuko-san, right? Minato-kun had mentioned to me about you before. Thank you for being too kind to him," Jun bowed to Yuko, much to her bewilderment. "Ah, sorry, I haven't introduced myself to you. I'm Murakami Jun, Minato-kun's and Kazushi-kun's classmate. Pleased to meet you," she bowed again.

Yuko bowed to the blonde girl as well. "P-Pleased to meet you too!" she said.

"Anyway guys, do you want to eat something before going home?" Minato asked.

"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Kazushi exclaimed happily.

"And don't forget a bowl of ramen, extra large…" Minato added as he smirked mischievously to Kazushi.

"Hey! I'd never mentioned an extra large one!" Kazushi shouted at Minato. Jun and Yuko giggled by seeing the boys' antics.

"So, do you want to come along?" Minato turned to Yuko and Jun. Yuko just shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Minato-kun. I've something to do after this, so how about next time?" the manager said to Minato.

"I see…" Minato mused, mildly disappointed. Then he looked at Jun. "How about you, Jun-san? Do you want to join us?" he asked.

Jun nodded as she smiled brightly. "Of course, Minato-kun! I'd love it if it's you! Furthermore…" Jun then took Minato's hands. "I am your friend, right?" her face was reddened.

Kazushi couldn't help but to show his bemused look as he looked at those two, namely Minato and Jun. Yuko in the other hand, could be seen with her body twitching, seemingly reacting with Jun's action to Minato. Like Jun, Yuko's cheeks were shaded with red as well.

"S-Sorry to interrupt, but are you two…" Kazushi spoke to Minato. "Are you two… you know…"

"His girlfriend!" Jun exclaimed, making Yuko's body twitched even further. Minato could be seen sweatdropped before he chuckled.

"She is my good 'girl' friend…" Minato corrected, emphasizing the word 'girl'. "It's normal, isn't it, having friends from opposite gender?"

"Is it normal to hold someone's hands of opposite gender?" Kazushi asked. Suddenly, an imaginary volcano erupted on top of Yuko's head before she fell to the floor. She fainted as she heard the words 'hold someone's hands of opposite gender'. The group panicked as Yuko fainted.

Chizuru was scribbling something in her notebook as she observed them from her hiding. Definitely, she expected the same had happened to Jun.

_Like Nodoka, Jun is also falling on him._

Then, she wrote a conclusion.

_Arisato Minato-kun is a chick magnet._

"But this isn't enough. I must search more about him!" Chizuru groaned. At that time, she didn't realize that later she would witness Minato's greatest secret, the darkest one to be precise.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Chizuru was on her way to grocery shop. She dressed in her school uniform. Even though it was already dark, there were many people in the street. While she was walking, she was contemplating with herself about Minato.

_"Somehow, I feel something is hidden about Minato-kun, something darker, something that shouldn't be known…"_ she thought. She looked at her watch and it's already 11.58 p.m.

_"I won't give up just now! I will unravel his greatest secret and expose it to the school!"_ Chizuru thought as she clenched her fist. Then she continued to walk to her destination without realizing that it was already midnight.

And she entered a nightmarish world.

Her surrounding turned into silence as everyone except her turned into creepy-looking coffins. Water puddles on the pavement turned into blood and the night sky was shaded with ghastly green color. Moon also turned from its brilliant shade of white into lifeless, nightmarish yellow glow.

Her eyes widened as beads of sweat began to form on her face. She wiped her sweat and found that it turned into blood in her hand. Her reaction was priceless. She screamed in terror.

"Where am I?" she exclaimed in horror. "No, no, no! Someone, anyone! Can you hear me?" she shouted as tears began to form in her eyes. Then, something more dreadful emerged from darkness.

It was shapeless, blobby-like thing with blue mask. It let out moaning voice which almost made Chizuru puked her last dinner. As the thing moved, the sound of fluid flowing was heard. Chizuru tried to run but she couldn't as she tripped on her own feet. The grotesque-looking creature went slowly to her, intending to devour her alive.

Chizuru closed her eyes tightly before she screamed loudly. "Someone, help me!"

The good news was someone helped her as she felt like someone was standing in front of her, blocking the creature's assault that was intended to her. The bad news was she hadn't prepared herself with the upcoming situation.

"Are you alright?" a familiar voice spoke. Chizuru opened her eyes and freaked out as she saw a familiar-looking navy-haired boy clad in school uniform, holding a wicked-looking rapier. The image of the ghastly yellow moon was reflected on the metallic surface of the rapier. He used the rapier to block the creature's attack.

"Minato-kun?" that's the only thing she could say.

"Hold on, Chizuru-san. It's going to end soon," Minato said before he landed a kick on the creature, sending it behind. "I am asking are you alright?" he asked again, this time with slightly pressed tone.

"Y-Yes!" Chizuru nodded.

"Good. Stay there and don't move. I'm gonna kill that thing first…" he spoke. Before Chizuru could ask him about the 'killing' part, Minato rushed towards the creature. He anticipated every of the creature's moves before the creature released a flame attack. Instead of evading it, Minato resisted the attack. Instead of heavily burned, Minato was barely injured by the attack.

The next thing Minato did was drawing out a gun-like device which was in the holster on his waist. Then Chizuru freaked out again as he placed the gun on the side of his head. Before she could do anything, Minato pressed the trigger.

"Orpheus!"

Some kind of brilliant azure light engulfed Minato's body before an ethereal creature began to form above him. It looked humanoid with human's head but with seemingly-mechanical body. A lyre was strapped on the creature's back. It looked explicitly like Minato, but with dark skin, red pupilless eyes and white hair. It let out a screeching shout before it took its lyre from it back. It swung the lyre onto the creature.

With a scream of agony, the blobby-looking creature dissipated into black particles. The humanoid creature vanished as well. Minato was standing in front of Chizuru, still staring at the place where the creature was.

"What is that?" Chizuru muttered.

Minato turned and looked at Chizuru. He gave the girl a kind smile before he asked. "Are you alright?"

Before she could reply it, she felt somehow dizzy before she fell onto the pavement. Her vision darkened. The last thing she could hear was Minato's voice, shouting her name.

"Chizuru-san!"

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

Hello, it's me, Albireo Imma. I'm glad there are some reviews for this story. I hope you guys will continue to support this story. Okay, about this chapter, this Chizuru character will be explained. And in this chapter too, I have included some actions, as you can see when Minato battles the Shadow after saving Chizuru. With this chapter, introduction arc is finished. After this, elaboration arc will follow. I hope you may enjoy this chapter, and last but not least, read and review.

Albireo Imma


	5. Truth

Gekkoukan High's Helpful Questioneers

Written by Albireo Imma

Chapter 5: Truth

* * *

"Chizuru, you're awfully quiet today. What happened?" Jun asked the red-haired girl with concern. Like usual, the GHQ trio had another meeting for that day. Jun was being herself, an airheaded, cheerful tall girl while Nodoka being her usual self, a stoic, nonsensical serious girl.

But the different thing happened to the usually-enthusiastic leader of the trio, Chizuru. She was somehow gloomy and dispirited.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Chizuru said, shaking her head. Jun couldn't help but to frown by Chizuru's reply.

"So, what're we going to do today?" Nodoka asked, correcting the position of her glasses. "Is it about…" she gazed downwards, seemingly hesitated to finish her words. "Is it about Minato-kun?" she said, hiding her blushed face from her friends.

"About the research?" Chizuru asked. "W-Well, what do you have here?" she asked, trying to sound upbeat.

Jun took out her notebook and read its content. "It's the same like usual, Chizuru. It's just the usual spotting of Arisato Minato-kun around the town. Somehow…" she opened the other pages of her notebook. "From our anonymous yet trustful sources, our subject is frequently spotted around or near midnight, and sometimes, he can be seen holding something suspicious…" then the blonde girl saw Chizuru's expression changed. "Chizuru-chan, what's up with you? Are you alright?"

"Geh? O-Of course I'm fine!" Chizuru shook her head. She touched her face and it felt hot than usual. She knew that her face had reddened intensely with their subject, Arisato Minato being mentioned.

"Are you sick? I'll bring you to the school nurse, okay?" Jun said with concern.

"T-There's no need for that, just go on!" Chizuru said.

"Umm… I think that's all, Chizuru-chan. We don't get any latest information…" Jun said, sighing.

"It's getting fruitless every time we try to do that…" Nodoka said, closing her eyes. "Just give it up, Chizuru. I-I think…" then the other two realized that Nodoka was stuttering. "I think Minato-kun is too deep for us. He's one hell of charisma, a walking mystery that I can't even interpret. Just give it up…"

"N-No, I won't give up," Chizuru replied rather weakly.

"Chizuru-chan, are you alright?" Jun seemed concerned with their de facto leader.

"Jun-chan, Nodoka-chan, can you please leave me alone for today? I have something to ponder…" Chizuru requested. Nodoka frowned by Chizuru's request. Before she could ask her about it, Jun placed her hand on Nodoka's shoulder while smiling gently.

"Don't overexert yourself too much, Chizuru-chan. Well, we'll take our leave here. See you tomorrow, okay?" Chizuru said before she pulled Nodoka outside the classroom, leaving only Chizuru alone inside the room.

Chizuru sighed before she stood up and went to the window. She gazed upwards, looking into the cloudless sky. The weather seemed nice with the sky with its usual blue shade. Then her shoulder twitched as she remembered the nightmarish hour in her life two days ago. The supposed peaceful sky of Port Island was tainted with eerie green glow. Water changed into blood while the brilliant, bright moon turned into a lifeless, ghastly yellow orb in the middle of the green sky.

Then she remembered the one who rescued her from being devoured by that monstrous blobby thing. She always knew that Arisato Minato was a boy with a secret but he never thought it would be that kind of secret. Since they started their mission to unravel Minato's secret, she thought that Minato might be related to Yakuza gang or something. But instead, he was a sword-wielding warrior who fought those nightmarish demons in the night when the time stood still with the atmosphere changed and people turned into coffins.

And the worst of it, she remembered them all, even when she supposed to not remember them.

* * *

It was that night when Chizuru passed out. Before she could fall on the pavement, Minato took her into his arms, embracing her securely. The touch seemed to make her regain her consciousness. She felt rather dizzy and confused though. With her squinted eyes, she looked into Minato's face. The light of the lifeless moon helped Chizuru to have a better view on Minato's smiling face.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright…" Minato said before he let out a sigh of relief. He then briefly checked Chizuru's body to see whether she's injured or not by touching several of her body parts. Surprised, Chizuru's eyes widened.

"Eeekk!" the red-haired girl yelped before she threw a punch on Minato's face. Then she hastily got up and delivered some kicks and punches on the poor blue-haired boy. "Pervert!"

"C-Calm down, Chizuru-san, I don't mean to- guh!" he received another punch right on his nose. "C-Calm down already!" he shouted before he caught Chizuru's punching fists. "Relax, I'm just checking you whether you're injured or not. Oww… it hurts…" he groaned. His face was bruised and his black uniform was dirtied due to the kicks.

"Eh, ah!" Chizuru realized what she had done before she took several steps aback. She bowed apologetically to Minato for striking him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I-I was nervous back then, and- ah!" she wobbled before she lost her balance. Quickly Minato caught her before she could fall on the pavement. "M-My head hurts… I feel like my skull's splitting…" she whimpered. Tears gathered on her eyes due to her fear and pain.

"Very well, Chizuru-san. I'll bring you to my dorm. We'll treat you before we bring you home, okay?" Minato said gently before he cradled her. Chizuru yelped before her face reddened. "Is this position okay?" Minato asked.

"I-I uh…" Chizuru seemed to lose her bearing for a while, stuttering some nonsense. After returning back into her sense, she shyly replied, "I-It's okay, I guess…" she avoided Minato's eyes as Minato brought her along in his arms, lifting her to the direction of his dorm. Somehow, Chizuru felt comfortable in his arms before she felt her eyelids became heavier. Slowly, she closed her eyes and dozed off.

After that she vividly remembered being put on a soft couch. She could hear the sounds of barking dog, some voices that she could recognize several of them.

_"Minato-kun, what's up with your face? And what's up with her?"_ a girl's voice was heard.

_"I saved her earlier when I patrolled around. She's lucky to be seen by me during this time. Yukari, please heal her,"_ it was Minato's voice.

_"Will she be alright?"_ another girl's voice was heard.

_"She will, I guess. She saw me summoning Persona though…"_

_"That would be the least of our worries then. You have rescued this girl from a Shadow, very impressive considering that you're doing it on your own. Plus, she seems to be not naturally tuned into Dark Hour. I believe she'll forget everything she saw after the Dark Hour ends,"_ another voice that filled with authority then spoke to Minato. At that time, Chizuru had fully conscious and yet, she preferred to have her eyes closed, faking her sleep.

Then she felt that light was turned on. She felt like hearing buzzing sound in her ears. She then heard someone said, "The Dark Hour has ended. She'll probably forget everything."

And that's when it hit her, a brilliant idea to be exact.

* * *

"Arisato Minato, I never thought you're hiding this kind of interesting secret from us, a total delicious secret! Keeping it from public will only waste it!" Chizuru said with enthusiasm. "I will expose the truth! Hehehe, Arisato Minato, you better prepare…" she smiled evilly.

Meanwhile, outside the classroom, Nodoka and Jun were eavesdropping Chizuru.

"I think Chizuru-chan got something interesting in her mind…" Jun said.

"It seems to be that way, Jun-chan…" Nodoka nodded.

"Hehehe…" Chizuru chuckled as she looked into her palms. "I can't wait exposing your true colors to other students, Minato-kun. Soon, you'll become one of the juiciest stuff ever being talked in history of Gekkoukan High School! With these hands, I shall expose everything about you, even by leaving you naked! Puahahahahahahahahaha!" she laughed evilly.

"Chizuru-chan sure is enjoying herself, isn't she?" Jun commented.

"I hope she won't get any trouble after this…" Nodoka sighed.

* * *

The objective was simple; making an audio record of Minato's confession of his involvement in a battle against monstrous abominations during a hidden hour in the midnight. The things that she needed were audio recorder, Arisato Minato in person and his willingness to confess everything. The first one seemed to be no problem accessing it, but the latter two seemed to be quite problematic to get.

That's why Chizuru thought about this. During that hidden Dark Hour, Minato was summoning some kind of creature by shooting himself on his head with a gun-shaped device. It seemed to be an important item for him, so Chizuru decided to take advantage of it.

The first step was to make sure that Minato brought along that device. During lunchtime, Chizuru sneakily entered Minato's classroom and took a brief check into his bag. Just like what she thought, she saw that thing, that gun-shaped thingy. Without anyone noticing it, she took it out before she got out from the room with that gun tucked into her uniform. Step one: succeeded.

Now, for the step two: looking at Minato's reaction upon losing his thing. Just like what she suspected, he seemed surprised but still calm to retain his composure. Pretty tough, she thought. Then he started asking his friends about someone taking something from his bag. It was also something that Chizuru suspected. Step two: cooked well.

Step three, wait for the next day. Chizuru was already excited about this. After school, she came to Minato's class and found him sitting on his seat, contemplating about something. "Good afternoon, Minato-kun. Would you mind if you spare some of your time?" she asked, giving the blue-haired boy a smile.

"Oh, you're Chizuru-san. Well, it's not like I'm really busy this time. Okay then, I'll come…" Minato nodded. Chizuru mentally cheered because her step three succeeded. Now, for the next step, "Where are we going?" Minato asked.

"Let's go to the rooftop," Chizuru suggested. Then she turned around, hiding an evil grin, thinking about how magnificent she was. You better prepare, Minato, Chizuru had created a trap specially made for you and you're already lured into it.

* * *

Both Minato and Chizuru were already on the rooftop. The sky was clear and it was a little windy. Minato was standing with his default clueless expression plastered on his face. Chizuru grinned before she put her audio recorder on the bench. "This might do it, Minato-kun. No one will hear us here…"

Minato frowned. His hands were inside his pocket, his default pose. "What do you want, Chizuru-san?" he asked.

"Minato-kun, you look restless since yesterday. Is something wrong?" Chizuru began. She would pull out her ultimate trump card anytime.

"Ah, actually, I've lost something yesterday. Someone's stealing one of my important things. I hope other people won't find it out…" Minato sighed.

"Oh, that…" Chizuru grinned. "Minato-kun, you really should be careful next time. But, how can you know that your thing was stolen?" she asked.

"Well, since no one bothered to take a look into my bag…" Minato shrugged. "Do you know anything about it, Chizuru-san?" he asked.

"Hmm… I don't really know, Minato-kun," Chizuru placed her finger on her cheek. "Do you mean that you're losing this?" she pulled out the gun-shaped device from her uniform. "Am I right?" she smiled evilly as she saw Minato's surprised look, which was priceless.

"T-That's…" Minato was stunned as he saw his Evoker was in Chizuru's hand. "T-That's my Evoker! W-Where did you find it?" he asked.

"Oho, I found it, in your bag…" Chizuru replied smugly.

Somehow, Minato's expression turned serious. "Chizuru-san, give it back," he said sternly.

"Nu uh, that won't do it…" Chizuru shook her head. Then she took out a hammer before she put the Evoker on the floor. She knelt, putting the head of her hammer on the Evoker. "You know, I may break this thing easily with this hammer. I know this thing's really important to you and treating it like this sure worth it…"

"What do you want, Chizuru-san?" Minato asked again, this time with louder voice.

"I can remember that night, Minato-kun. It was the Dark Hour, if I'm not wrong. It was a hidden hour between a day and the next. And that night, you saved me," then Chizuru snorted. "Why did you hide it from other people? This going to be a wonderful story to tell!" she exclaimed.

"Eh? You remember?' Minato frowned.

"If you want this thing back, I want you to say it out loud about everything you've done during Dark Hour. I'll record it with this…" she pointed at the audio recorder.

Minato sighed. "Chizuru-san, that won't work at all. People won't believe in it…" he said.

"That's why I want to tell people about it!" Chizuru exclaimed. "As long as I'm telling the truth, I won't give it a damn! It's up to them to not believe anything I'll tell them, but I'll expose it to the public! I'll show them this ultimate truth!" she added.

Minato scowled. How misguided this girl was, Minato thought. He was sure that no one would believe it. And there was Mitsuru to be put into consideration. Ultimate execution aside, she could easily make this nonsense stopped and she might do something to Chizuru for her nonsensical involvement in spreading that stupid nonsense. So, he silently decided to not agree with giving her what she wanted. All he needed was to take his Evoker safely.

"So, what's your decision, Minato-kun?" Chizuru asked.

"No…" Minato said. "If I tell you, it won't make any difference. No one will believe you, Chizuru-san."

"Your thing isn't in advantageous position, Minato-kun," Chizuru reminded. Then, she picked the Evoker. "I wonder what this thing is. You did this last time, right?" she put the Evoker on her temple, imitating Minato's pose at that night.

"Give it back, Chizuru-san. Give it before I resort in violence…" Minato threatened.

"No way," Chizuru stuck out her tongue, refusing to give it back to Minato. "Like I said, this thing isn't in advantageous position, am I righ-!" before she could finish, the Evoker fell from her hand onto the floor. She was dazed for a while before she unintentionally stepped on the metallic device. A cracking sound was heard. "Aahh!" she yelped before she fell on her rear. "Oww… eh?" she saw the Evoker was slightly dented before she gasped. She never planned to break that little thing (the hammer was just to threaten Minato) but she did it. She had broken Minato's precious belonging. "I-I break it?"

Minato picked his dented Evoker and then looked at Chizuru disdainfully. Somehow, his eyes seemed cold just like his sword. Chizuru backed off, terrified by those eyes. She never planned to do that, and now she had made something hideous. Then she realized what she had done. She stole other student's belonging and threatened the said student with it. If other people knew it, she would be in great trouble. She felt extremely guilty for everything she done and then tears came out from her eyes.

"Uh… I-I'm sorry… I-I didn't mean to- *sob," she said to Minato. "P-Please d-don't tell others. I-I don't want to get expelled, *sob," she pleaded tearfully. "M-Minato-kun, I'm sorry…"

Minato's expression softened. He knelt before he took out a piece of handkerchief and used it to wipe Chizuru's tear gently. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone…" he said reassuringly. Chizuru was surprised before she looked into Minato's face with her clueless expression.

"Well, if I tell others, I may get some bad luck too. I may have to give good damn explanation about why I bring this thing to school…" Minato showed the dented Evoker. "I'm not really mad at you, Chizuru-san. Here, use this," he offered his handkerchief to Chizuru.

"T-Thanks…" awkwardly, Chizuru took the piece of cloth and used it to wipe her teary face. Her face was red like her hair. "M-Minato-kun, you're really kind…" she said timidly.

"Oh, it's nothing at all. Well, don't do it again after this, okay?" Minato reminded. Chizuru weakly nodded. Then Minato stood up before he offered Chizuru a hand. "Here, stand up…" he said, smiling gently to her. Chizuru smiled as well before she took his hand.

And the door was opened.

"I think he's not here, Aigis…"

"Last time I saw him was in front of men's restroom, Yukari-san…"

"Eh?" it was Yukari who was accompanied by a blonde girl, Aigis. "M-Minato-kun, you're here, and…" she saw Chizuru holding Minato's hand. "Huh?"

"I have found you, Minato-san…" Aigis said before she looked at Chizuru. "Suspicious presence detected."

"Y-Yukari? Aigis?" Minato was surprised by seeing those two. He didn't realize that he was still holding Chizuru's hand.

"Minato-kun, can you give me a good damn explanation about this?" Yukari asked. Mysteriously, her bow and arrow were in her hands. "I hope your explanation is logical enough so I won't have to put this arrow into your head!"

"Suspicious activity confirmed. Minato-san, allow me to inflict a punishment on you. I am getting into what Mitsuru-san had programmed, execution," Aigis stated, pointing her finger guns to Minato.

The poor boy backed off as he released Chizuru's hand. And that afternoon, a wailing voice of a boy was heard throughout the school.

Joke aside, Chizuru had learned something important that afternoon. She knew that Minato was really something and she decided to learn it but this time, she wouldn't expose it to others. Instead, she would keep it for herself.

"This feeling, is it love?"

To Be Continued

Finally, the fifth chapter is completed. Yeah, after several editing, I finally made it! This is the beginning of the second arc of this story. Chizuru in this chapter is kinda jerkass, I guess. But don't worry, she got plenty of redeeming qualities and I think I'll handle it dramatically in this story. I hope you'll like this chapter and please review while waiting for the next chapter.

Albireo Imma


End file.
